Incipient A Dark Paranormal Romance - Bianca Scardoni Page 0,36
time are we talking about here anyway?”
“It’s a rhetorical, Ben. Hush.”
“Alright.” He pretended to zip his mouth shut and lock it with a key.
“Where might one restrain such an animal in this type of hypothetical situation? And what sort of restraints might one use to accomplish said…restraining?” Gosh, I was confusing myself with that one.
He looked at me like I’d sprouted a third eye. “What’s this really about, Jem?”
I blew out a breath of air, causing a strand of my hair to flutter away from my face. Apparently, I wasn’t very good at the whole hypothetical thing. “There’s something I have to do tonight that I don’t want to do and I’m looking for a way to physically stop myself from doing it.”
“Why don’t you just not do it,” he suggested lamely and then grinned as though he’d just cracked the case.
“Don’t you think I would if that were possible?” Now it was my turn to look at him like he was an idiot. “I don’t have a choice in the matter,” I explained pointedly. “My feet are going to start moving whether I want them to or not.”
“Woah. Dominic compelled you?” His eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and intrigue.
I wasn’t even sure why I was surprised he’d figured out who the compeller was. I mean, it’s not like there was many other options. Gabriel couldn’t compel a fly to leave the house and I wouldn’t let any other vampire close enough to me to even have the chance.
“Can you help me or not?” I asked, dodging his question even though we both knew the answer.
“Yeah, I think so,” he said and appeared to be thinking of it. “I have a cellar in my basement. Shouldn’t be a problem to get the old chains and cuffs out.” He shrugged like that was the best he could do.
It was a hell of a lot better than anything I’d come up with, which was nothing.
“What about your parents?” I imagined the whole ordeal could get quite loud, possibly even painful for me. Truth was, I’ve never fought off a compulsion before, so I had no real idea what I was in for.
“Business trip.” The way he said it made it sound like they were always away on a business trip. “I have the house to myself so that won’t be a problem.”
I flashed him a grateful smile. “I owe you big time for this,” I said as I started to walk backward. “So, I’ll meet you there around seven o’clock. Is that okay?”
“No problem. Should I let Trace know what’s up?”
“No!” I said far louder than necessary to get my point across. “I don’t want him involved in this, okay? You have to promise me that this stays between us.”
“But what if you break out of the restraints?” he asked nervously. “I don’t think I can hold you off on my own.”
“Then make sure the restraints don’t break,” I said and then turned back toward the stairway I’d come from.
The rain was falling in sheets by the time I pulled out of the school parking lot and made my way over to Temple. I hadn’t heard any news from William since I’d left him with our prized Horsemen and while I was enjoying the fact that they were taking the reins on this whole Lucifer baby thing for once, not knowing what the plan was also wasn’t sitting well with me. Especially after what Morgan had said about seeing Nikki have this baby. I couldn’t help but worry that the Council was leaving me in the dark intentionally, like they knew I wouldn’t approve of whatever it was they had planned.
“Jemma. What a nice surprise,” said William as he greeted me in the atrium. “What brings you to Temple today?”
“I just figured I’d stop by on my way home. You know, see what kind of progress you made with the two Horseman.”
“Three,” he corrected with an upbeat flick of his eyebrows.
“Death showed up?” Okay, that sounded really weird coming out of my mouth.
“Indeed, he did. Just this morning as a matter of fact.” He put his arm out, signaling for me to walk with him.
“Wow. So, what now?” I asked as I fell into step with him. “What’s the plan?”
He pursed his lips as he glanced at the marble floor before meeting my eyes again. “I’m sure you’re already aware that it is one of our own that is carrying Lucifer’s successor.”
Strange choice of words, I thought. Probably trying